Standard of Care Expert Witnesses: 136

Keith R. Brookenthal, MD, has an exclusive practice in Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery. With over 24 years of experience, Dr. Brookenthal is a Fellowship-trained Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, Diplomate of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Litigation Support - Dr. Brookenthal offers expert witness services for attorneys representing plaintiff and defense. His services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Pediatric Surgical Standard of Care Pediatric Orthopedic Trauma Pediatric Orthopedic Sports Medicine Pediatric Orthopedic Arthroscopy Pediatric Tumor

Delayed Diagnosis Cancer Compartment Syndrome Pediatric Deformity Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) Pediatric Scoliosis

Bonneau Dickson, P.E. is a sanitary engineer with forty years of experience in all aspects of potable water, wastewater and stormwater design and construction management.  He has provided forensic sanitary engineering expertise and served as an expert witness for 25 years.  He has been deposed approximately 100 times and has testified in trials, arbitrations or mediations more than a dozen times.  He has worked both in the U.S, and abroad.

Mr. Dickson has designed approximately 300 water, wastewater, and stormwater projects. Has been resident engineer or otherwise participated in the construction phase of approximately 20 water and wastewater projects. Mr. Dickson has both project management and general management experience as project manager on approximately 175 projects. Mr. Dickson served as forensic technical consultant or expert witness on more than 100 cases. With his decades of experience, he understands not only the engineering aspects, but also the financial, managerial, political, and personal aspects of legal issues. Mr. Dickson's expert services include succinct reports with explanations of complex engineering matters in layman’s language. 

Areas of Expertise:

Sewage Overflows Wastewater Facilities Design Wastewater Facilities Planning Septic Systems Water Facilities Design

Water Facilities Planning Standard of Care Stormwater Facilities Design Stormwater Facilities Planning PCE Contamination

Education - BS Civil Engineering, GA Tech; MS Sanitary Engineering, GA Tech; MA Sanitary Engineering, Harvard University; Master Of Business Administration, Harvard University View Bonneau Dickson's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Michael Blumenkrantz was educated at Columbia College and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He spent three years in post-graduate training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, trained in London at the National Heart Hospital and Royal Post-Graduate Hammersmith. Dr. Blumenkrantz continued his training in Nephrology at the Wadsworth VAH and UCLA, worked at the Pritikin Center and he remained in academic medicine, for 10 years where he did extensive clinical research and achieved the rank of Associate Professor of Medicine, (step three, in residence), at UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Blumenkrantz became nationally and internationally known for his work in kidney disease, dialysis and clinical nutrition, (80 + publications), lecturing and discussing cases nationally as well as an invited visiting Professor at numerous international institutions.

Dr. Blumenkrantz is a Fellow of the American College of Medicine and Clinical Nutrition. He is also a certified Nutritional Support Physician. “Dr. B” has been in clinical practice for over 30 years where he enjoys seeing patients with a broad range of often complicated and complex medical problems, he emphasizes preventive medicine and nutrition in his practice with a warm and engaging personality.

Dr. Blumenkrantz has been doing medical/legal evaluations for over 25 years, (over 700 cases), his areas of expertise include internal medicine, metabolic disorders, diabetes and diabetic kidney disease, critical care, geriatric/nursing home, clinical nutrition and TPN as well as kidney disease, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and hypertension. He has testified in approximately 170 depositions and 40 trials.

Dr. Blumenkrantz is quite articulate, very experienced and writes excellent reports. Dr. Blumenkrantz will be glad to discuss any prospective case or medical problem with you.

You may contact Dr. Blumenkrantz for copies of his CV, bibliography and fee schedule.

Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®, CRPC®, RICP®, Chief Executive Officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, is a Certified Financial Planning Expert with 18 years of experience. Prior to co-founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth, she was a Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial and an Analyst and Editor at Towa Securities in Tokyo, Japan. Ms. Cheng is a past spokesperson for the AARP Financial Freedom Campaign and a regular columnist for Investopedia & Kiplinger. She is a CFP® professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, a Retirement Income Certified Professional® and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. As a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) Ambassador, Ms. Cheng helps educate the public, policymakers, and media about the benefits of competent, ethical financial planning. She served on the Financial Planning Association (FPA) National Board of Directors from 2013 – 2015 and is a past president of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area (FPA NCA). 

Marguerita Cheng CNBC Interview on Social Security 

Awards and Honors - Ms. Cheng is a recipient of the Ameriprise Financial Presidential Award for Quality of Advice and the prestigious Japanese Monbukagakusho Scholarship. In 2017, she was named the #3 Most Influential Financial Advisor in the Investopedia Top 100, a Woman to Watch by InvestmentNews, and a Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE®) by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC).

Litigation Support - Ms. Cheng serves as a Women’s Initiative (WIN) Advocate and subject matter expert for CFP Board, contributing to the development of examination questions for the CFP® Certification Examination. She also volunteers for CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) hearings. Services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant include financial due diligence, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Litigation Expertise:

Financial Planning Issues Social Security Elder Financial Abuse

Financial Planner Standard of Care Financial Planner Code of Ethics Investor Rights

Jess Birken, MNM, Esq.

Jess is the owner of Birken Law Office PLLC, a boutique law firm serving nonprofits and charitable entities with their compliance and operational issues. Jess empowers nonprofits to achieve their mission by doing things right. She connects clients with the right tools, right coaching and right contacts. Ms. Birken is a nationally recognized attorney both for her service and understanding of the nonprofit & charitable sector as well as for her innovative subscription based law firm model. Listen to Jess' podcast Charity Therapy on your favorite podcast player.

Credentials

• BA, Sociology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• JD, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Magna Cum Laude
• MA, Nonprofit Management, Hamline University School of Business
• For additional information view LinkedIn

Litigation Support 

Ideal client engagements are with attorneys for either plaintiff or defendant representing nonprofits involved in complex nonprofit business or compliance cases.

Entity Formation, Articles of Incorporation Nonprofit Sector Best Practices Bylaws Interpretation Fiduciary Duties Private Benefit / Private Inurement / Insider Dealing

Voting Member Rights Board Disputes / Community Disputes Government Grant Compliance Nonprofit Policy Norms Conflicts of Interest Management

Biography

Ms. Birken is the former CEO & Managing Partner at Urban Birken PLLC, a boutique firm that focused on serving the nonprofit community and started her own firm in 2016. Jess has extensive non-legal experience working inside nonprofit organizations for most of her career prior to law school as well as after attaining her masters.

Before becoming a private practice attorney, Ms. Birken served inside a mid-sized national nonprofit organization, Pheasants Forever. In that role she managed ~$50,000,000 in state and federal government grants and worked on hundreds of conservation real estate transactions. Jess is deeply experienced in the reality of federal grants management across the entire life cycle. Ms. Birken has a deep understanding of the norms and best practices of the nonprofit sector, as well as the legal and regulatory environment these organizations exist within. This expertise was developed through her academic work obtaining a Masters in Nonprofit Management, in the work environment and through private practice experience.

Birken Law Video Introduction

Contact Information

You can contact Ms. Birken via e-mail or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

Click here to schedule a free call now.

Elbridge F. Bills, MD, FACOG, is a board certified OB/GYN with over 20 years of clinical experience in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Bills is a graduate of Emory Medical School and received a Master's degree in Metabolic & Nutritional Medicine from the University of South Florida.

With a full-time practice caring for and managing low and high risk pregnancies and deliveries, Dr. Bills also has an active gynecological practice including hysteroscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic procedures. He is licensed in both Georgia and Florida.

Dr. Bills is Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a member of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Litigation Support - Dr. Bills offers expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defense. He is available for cases involving medical malpractice and other OB-GYN related injuries. His services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Normal & High Risk Pregnancies Hysteroscopic Gynecology Laparoscopic Gynecology Reconstructive and Robotic Surgery

Gynecological Ultrasound Integrative Medicine Hormone Therapy Testosterone Therapy

Gerald W. Smetana, MD, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, is a General Internist with over 36 years of experience in an academic primary care practice at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School where he has taught internal medicine to medical house staff and also teaches extensively to practicing clinicians in continuing medical education settings. Dr. Smetana is a Master of the American College of Physicians.

Practicing in an outpatient setting, Dr. Smetana cares for a panel of patients that is weighted towards those with multiple chronic illnesses and high disease complexity. In addition to all aspects of office based general internal medicine, his areas of interest include Preoperative Medical Evaluation, Hypertension, and Headache.

Dr. Smetana has been repeatedly selected as a Best Doctor in a national survey and has received a national award for scholarship in medical education. He publishes in the peer reviewed medical literature and medical texts, has edited textbooks, and has helped to develop national guidelines on topics in internal medicine. He has been invited to deliver seminars and presentations on various topics within his area of expertise nationally and internationally.

Litigation Support - Dr. Smetana reviews cases for both plaintiffs and defendants and has testified at deposition and at trial as an expert on numerous occasions in most states in the eastern United States. He has reviewed medical malpractice cases over the past 20 years both for plaintiffs and doctors. Dr. Smetana also consults for risk management insurers. His record review and medicolegal consultation services are available throughout the United States.

Tyla A. DiMaria has a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), with over 25 years of experience in Serious Injuries and Catastrophic Illness within various clinical settings, management, work comp, and home care. Ms. DiMaria is a Registered Nurse certified in Case Management as well as Life Care Planning. She has owned her own homecare company since 2008.

As Principal of Best Care Life Solutions, based in Carlsbad, California, Ms. DiMaria reviews medical records, performs past billing analysis, consults and collaborates with physicians and other health professionals to formulate future care needs and Life Care Plans for patients with catastrophic injuries and chronic illness.

Ms. DiMaria provides nationwide services to both plaintiffs and defense attorneys. Expert Witness Services include Independent Medical Evaluations, Depositions, and In-Court Testimonies.

Areas of Expertise:

Life Care Plans Life Care Plan Rebuttals

Standard of Care Reports Cost Comparisons

The Life Care Plan is crucial to individuals with injuries or chronic conditions requiring complex long-term healthcare intervention and management. It is an integrative plan for individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions that includes items and services required, along with specific costs that addresses current and future needs. The Life Care Plan includes estimates for the current and future healthcare needs of individuals along with the associated costs.

Dennis Fivecoat has over 25 years of Use of Force and Firearm experience in the Military (20 years, retired) and private sector including significant training in the area of Civilian Law Enforcement.  He has attended numerous firearm and use of force related training courses including instructor development with local and federal law enforcement agencies, tactical firearm, close quarters battle, concealed carry, force-on-force training, use-of-force, and legal updates.

Litigation Support - As an instructor-trainer (Master Instructor) in firearms and less lethal devices (pepper spray, expandable baton, defensive tactics, handcuffing), Mr. Fivecoat has a practical and academic basis in the use of deadly and less-lethal use of force by civilians.  His experience teaching firearm use, defensive tactics, and use-of-force allow him to provide opinion on not only proper use of the tool or tactic utilized, but whether the actions were reasonable under the circumstances of the incident.

Mr. Fivecoat provides consultation and testimony on the reasonable use of force, self-defense, and defense of others. Private citizens may become involved in situations (shootings, brandishing, threats with weapons, excessive force, false arrest, false imprisonment) where the reasonableness and legality of their actions are challenged. Review of actions taken, firearm use, and the education of the expert provide the foundation for determining the reasonableness of each parties’ actions. Mr. Fivecoat will review the incident and opine based on local law, training standards, and the reasonableness of the use of force under the circumstances and conditions of the incident. 

Areas of Expertise:

Reasonable Use of Force Excessive Force Local Law Training Standards Firearms Tactical Firearms Firearm Brandishing Pepper Spray Expandable Baton

Defensive Tactics Threats with Weapons Handcuffing Close Quarters Battle Conceal Carry Self Defense Defense of Others False Arrest False Imprisonment

Background - Dennis Fivecoat is a retired US Army physician assistant with a wide variety of functional background and experience. He has seen service in eight different countries encompassing desert, jungle, snow, and maritime missions. His past responsibilities range from combat in SW Asia to hospital duties as an ICU nurse in South Carolina. He has responded during national hurricane relief efforts and somewhat smaller Defense Support to Civil Authority (DSCA) missions. Click for Full Biography.

View Dennis Fivecoat's Consulting Profile.

Edward J. Priz, CPCU, APA, has worked full-time in the Insurance Industry since 1976. In 1982, he also began consulting on commercial property and casualty insurance, and Workers Compensation insurance premium charges, and in 1987 established his own consulting firm to specialize in those fields, as Advanced Insurance Management. 

Mr. Priz holds the professional designation Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) from the American Institute of Property and Liability Underwriters, as well as the designation Associate in Premium Auditing, from the Insurance Institute of America. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Priz has been retained by policyholders, insurance agents and brokers, insurance companies, and a premium audit firm as an expert witness in his field, both as a consulting expert and as a testifying expert. He serves as an expert witness to counsel for Plaintiff and Defense and has testified in federal and state courts and arbitrations in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. He is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association and currently serves as Vice-President of the Chicago chapter of that organization. He is also a member of the Society of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, and the National Society of Insurance Premium Auditors. 

Mr. Priz has also consulted on the drafting of legislation pertaining to Workers Compensation insurance in Illinois and has testified on insurance regulation before the Illinois legislature. He is the author of three books on the subject of Workers' Compensation insurance.

 

Edward Priz Expert Witness Services

Areas of Expertise:

Workers Compensation Insurance Premiums Audits Classifications Experience Modification Factors Retrospective Rating Large Deductible Policies Payroll Audits NCCI Manual Rules Insurance Agent / Broker Standards of Care Commercial Property & Casualty Insurance Coverage

NCCI classification Rules Experience Rating NCCI Rules and Procedures Retrospective Rating Large Deductible Policies Workers Compensation Appeals Agent Errors and Omissions Insurance Auditor Duties and Errors NCCI Inspections Independent WC Rating Bureau Rules

View Edward Priz's Consulting Profile.

Paul M. Adler, DO, FACEP, MBA, Medical Director for the Ventura County, California, Department of Corrections, has worked in Correctional / Jail / Prison Medicine & COVID-19 Preparation & Response. He has overseen the care of inmates in Jails in California and New York, as well as Prison inmates who have been transferred to county facilities to serve their terms for years in county jails in California. He has also overseen Correctional health car in locked units in Hospitals . 

Dr. Adler is the President-Elect of The American Correctional Health Services Association of California / Nevada, which represents all clinicians and administrators in Jails/Prisons in California and Nevada. He previously oversaw a County Hospital, County Nursing Home and ran a County Health Department and oversaw Correctional healthcare for the Westchester, New York Jail.

Litigation Support - Dr. Adler has defended Jails and Prisons in Southern California, Idaho, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. He is currently the expert consultant to the California Prison System for Covid litigation and the medical consultant to the judicial consent decree overseeing care in the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. He also served as the expert consultant to the ACLU for Covid in the Illinois Department of Corrections

Dr. Adler still works as a full-time practicing physician and has helped attorneys and insurance companies in Emergency Medicine, Nursing Home Medicine, Public Health and Hospital Administration since 1985. He has been involved in Plaintiff litigation in many states including against Rikers Island, NY and Cook County Jail and is available to review and consult on clinical Correctional/Jail/Prison cases for attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense.

Services:

• COVID-19 Preparation & Response
• Medical Oversight of Federal Consent Decrees
• Screen Cases for Merit
• Review, Analyze and interpret Medical Records
• Provide Basic or Comprehensive Written Reports
• Interpret Standards of Care, Deviation and Adherences as they Relate to Correctional Health Care
• Develop Chronological Time Lines
• Policy and Procedure Development

Ramzy Rimawi, MD, is American board certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Critical Care Medicine. He has authored dozens of articles and given hundreds of lectures in the fields of IM, ID, and critical care. Dr. Rimawi is extremely well qualified in topics including sepsis, infections, critical care, and ethics.

 As an expert medical witness, Dr. Rimawi has reviewed hundreds of medical malpractice cases for both plaintiff and defense.

LIST OF PHYSICIANS REVIEWED BY DR. RICK CHAVEZ AS AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT (OVER 155 CASES.) CAN SEND A LIST OF CASES COMPLETED, DEPOSITIONS, TESTIMONY IN FEDERAL AND STATE COURT.

LIST INCLUDES INDEPENDENT LAWYERS REGARDING PLAINTIFFS AND DEFENDENTS, MEDICAL BOARD REPORTS, U.S. ATTORNIES, USDOJ, DEA, EXPERTISE IN:

PAIN MANAGEMENT, PAIN INTERVENTIONS, DISCOGRAMS, EPIDURALS, INTRATHECAL PUMPS, OPIOID TREATMENT, ADDICTION MANAGEMENT, ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE DEFENSE AND LAWSUITS

Marilyn McCullum, BSN, RN, CEN, is a certified Emergency Nurse with peer-reviewed publications, speaking engagements, and testifying experience. She specializes in emergency nursing, general nursing care, medical documentation bias, and medical products as an end-user. She stays active in her clinical position and teaches her peers about documentation and triage.

Ms. McCullum's expert opinions are unbiased, neutral, and fact-based, following the national Standard of Care.

Jeffrey Grusenmeyer, Architect; 40 years of experience; NCARB National Council of Architectural Registration Boards Certified; Certified as a Building Official by the Council of American Building Officials; Certified as a Building Official, Master Plans Examiner, Building Inspector, Plumbing Inspector and Residential Building Official by the State of Ohio; Numerous Ohio Board of Building Standards Approved Courses and Presenter.; Appearances and testimony before the Ohio Board of Building Appeals.